Monday, 6 September 2010

Many Councils are currently reviewing their public buildings to see if their roofs are suitable for solar panel installations.

One local Council - Hull - has already begun a more in-depth feasibility study to see if the idea of using the large roof spaces on 4 multi-storey car parks is viable.

If such schemes do go ahead, it's envisaged that not only will electricity generated be used to power the car parks themselves but that a hoped for surplus will be 'sold back' to the Grid, making another source of income for cash-strapped councils.

Gary Porter, the chairman of the Local Government Association Environment Board, said that councils have many buildings, which include a range of depots, community centres and leisure facilities, and all of these can be transformed to generate green power. The money they would be able to earn from this could be used to lower taxes, he added, so there is much enthusiasm in town halls about this.